Kickstart with Curious Minds shines a light on how creating employment opportunities for early career professionals across a local area can contribute meaningfully to youth voice priorities.
The Kickstart scheme was announced in July 2020 with the ambition of creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for 16 – 24 year olds who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
Following the initial buzz and excitement, we heard from SMEs and grassroots creative employers that they were struggling to get involved. The scheme was not fit for purpose for their business needs and ways of working, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, we knew that youth voice was a strategic priority for most, if not all, of local cultural education partnerships we were working with.
A Curious Response
Curious Minds is proud to be working with seven Creative Youth Voice Champions under the Kickstart scheme.
Employed directly by Curious Minds and deployed in pairs across four LCEP areas in the North West, the Creative Youth Voice Champions are tasked with delivering a project for their local area, taking a creative approach to engaging children and young people’s voices in creativity and cultural education.
Woven throughout the programme is high-quality training led by industry professionals equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to enter the cultural education workforce. Silver Arts Award is embedded throughout, and they will be supported to transition into further opportunities towards the end of their six months.
“Being a Creative Youth Voice Champion has changed my opinion on how organisations should support their employees. It has also changed my opinion and encouraged me to pursue a career in arts and culture.”
Meet the Creative Youth Voice Champions
Name: Alan Calligan
LCEP: Bolton
Hey there, I’m Alan and I studied Music Production at Leeds Beckett University. I mainly play guitar but have a passion for learning other instruments and broadening my understanding of music. I have a YouTube channel in which I mostly upload myself playing video game soundtracks, combining my two main interests, all the while practising my arranging, playing, producing, and video editing skills.
Name: Alexandra Borg
LCEP: Bury
Hi, I’m Alexandra. Previously, I have completed multiple programmes and volunteer work including NCFE Level 1 Creative Media Course, Groundwork Prince’s Trust Programme, volunteered at Neilson Reeves Photography and 53TWO Studios. I am interested in pursuing an art related career and share a keen passion for the arts and education.
Name: El Clarke
LCEP: Salford & Trafford
My name is El and I recently graduated with a 2:1 BA (Honours) in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Salford. I’m a tarot reader, astrologer, and a creator of music. Connecting children and young people with the creative arts is something I am incredibly passionate about, and I feel blessed to be working in this role.
Name: Faisal Al Raisi
LCEP: Bolton
Hello there! I'm Faz. I was born and raised in Abu-Dhabi and moved to England in 2019. Currently, I'm working towards my level 3 in Youth Work and level 2 in Football Coaching. As I've spent the last 2 years doing sports youth work, I wanted to extend my knowledge and I am currently exploring my journey into creative arts. In future, I hope to use my experiences in both fields to have an impact on young people.
Name: Kenji Hlavac
LCEP: Bury
My name is Kenji. I’m an Asian dancer and singer, brought up in Czech Republic and later moved to the UK. I have a love for languages and currently speak eight of them. I hope to pursue a career in performing arts.
Name: Riley Dunk
LCEP: Salford & Trafford
I'm an artist, performer, and voice actor. I have helped with the organization of shows for the Edinburgh Fringe along with the world's first travelling pride event in Cornwall. I am currently working on The Anthotaxy Anthology, a game series by Studio Entomology as the lead character designer and pixel artist. I'm passionate about all types of art and I love to engage with new things and am always excited to learn!
Name: Tim Fielden
LCEP: Pendle
I grew up in a small village on the edge of Lancashire named Earby. Having not lived near anywhere that gives kids the chance to unleash their creativity, being able to give young people the opportunities that I didn’t have is a huge honour. I enjoy writing stories and watching films, and my ultimate goal is to write scripts for animated shows and movies.
Name: Zia Khan
Kickstart Programme Assistant
As the Programme Assistant for Kickstart, Zia runs weekly group peer mentoring for the Creative Youth Voice Champions. These are an important opportunity to come together on a regular basis to share what they have been working on, to share any learning and challenges they are facing and to support one another on their Kickstart journey.
